Nisha Ghosal
The Madras High Court had stated that character assassination in a male-dominated community was a common phenomenon, and it even prevails among the same gender.
A woman committed suicide by setting herself ablaze because the accused person, who is also the relative of the woman, had assassinated her character and even harassed her.
The accused was arrested under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code.
The Bench of Justice S. M. Subramaniam heard the bail plea.
He stated that the right to die was not made available to the citizens in the country. However, there is a misconception that the right to life under Article 21 also includes the right to die.
“Even under the Indian Penal Code, the person who had succeeded in committing such suicide, of course, cannot be punished, since the suicide is a self-inflicted death,” he said.
The Court further concluded that only the abettor to suicide is prosecuted.
Justice Subramaniam also commented that character assassination was the character of some greedy men and women “and on some occasions, un-intentional character assassinations are also causing a certain impact on the individual person.”
It further went to state that suicide was committed. However, it was difficult to make decisions based on harassment.
Thus, the Court granted bail to the accused by executing a bond of the sum of rupees 10,000.